


Granted

by DimlyMad



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-04-19
Updated: 2012-04-05
Packaged: 2018-08-30 14:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8536657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimlyMad/pseuds/DimlyMad
Summary: Never take things for granted, when your guard is down the things you love may become nothing but memories.Update: 05/03/2014 I've lost interest and inspiration to continue writing this story. I believe I still have part of chapter 9 written and will see if I can upload it. Maybe someday I will get myself to finish it, but right now it's not happening.





	1. Passion And Poetry

**Author's Note:**

> First Castle fanfc ever... hope you like it!
> 
> In relation to my other fanfic, it's being taken care of... I can´t publish the next chapter right now cuz my laptop crashed... but I'll post it eventualy.I know I published this less than three hours ago, but I was rereading it to start working in the next chapter when I noticed some mistakes...
> 
> I want to thank CastleandBeckett-always for adding my story to the favorites and mrhyperbole and rachnat who added my story to their alert, Thank you guys xD
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story... most of it's characters belong to ABC's CASTLE

She was not there. Once again she was _not_ there. They've been like this for about a week now. He'd wake up in the middle of the night just to find her side of the bed already cold and empty. He sighed. He was seriously getting tired of this. Every single time he tried to bring up the subject she would either change it or when she finally would agree to talk they were interrupted.

The first weeks after the nuclear bomb incident they had been back to what they were. She had forgiven him and things between them were great. She actually seemed to have forgotten the day he told her he was leaving. They sort of grew closer after that. But then again, that only lasted the first weeks after she almost froze to death. Now, they were drifting apart again. Now, they were almost back at square one, they were at that first time they'd met, when no matter how hard he tried to read her, she always seemed to close herself to his eyes, forbidding him to see the truth.

The clock marked 3.45 am and since she had to be at the precinct at 7 am, assuming she didn't get called sooner, he decided to drag her to bed. It had actually become a sort of routine. He would wake up in the middle of the night, she wouldn't be there, he would go look for her, he tried to drag her to bed, she would say no, he would apologize, they would start arguing and finally they would both go to bed mad at him.

Pulling the covers off himself, he silently exited the bedroom, his bare feet touching the cold wooded floor. After a few more paces, he found her on top of the stairs gazing out of the window, a thoughtful expression on. If they asked him, she could not look more like an angel, the late moon light bathing her angelic form, bringing extra shine to her green eyes. To him she looked absolutely perfect in her blue tank top and gray shorts.

He didn't know how long he stood there starring at her, but she didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. Climbing the stairs carefully so as not to startle her, he softly whispered her name "Kate"

Even then she didn't move. Moving silently behind her, he approached her curled up form and followed her gaze which seemed to lie upon the never sleeping city of New York.

Like Kate hadn't noticed him yet, he spoke her name softly and lightly touched her arm.

Startled, she quickly turned her face to him and after seeing what the object of her distraction was, she offered him a sad little smile.

"Sorry! Didn't hear you coming…" Kate apologized

"No problem… Wanna talk?" he softly asked deciding to try a new technique.

"Can't sleep…" she said, and when he was about to apologize she brought her hand to his mouth to stop him "This time it's not your fault" she said, the same sad smile laying on her lips.

"You ok? You look kinda pale" he said, this time trying to avoid the deadly subject.

"I think stomach-flue and a hell of a headache can explain that…" Kate explained "But I do think that too much work and lack of summer vacations are good explanations for that too" she said to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I think so" he chuckled.

As Kate was getting ready to say something, a shrilling noise coming from her cell phone, interrupted her. Picking it up form where it laid on top of a Richard Castle's novel, she brought the phone to her ear.

"Beckett" she answered in instantaneous autopilot.

From the other end came the familiar voice of her colleague Esposito "Yo, Beckett! We got a fresh body waiting for you... Unless you're too busy with a certain writer of course…" he said, a smile evident in his voice

"Why would I be…? Forget it. So, do we have an address? Or are you too busy with a certain ME named _Lanie_?"

A bit shocked by her retort he rapidly replied "388 Broadway # 1"

"Thanks! I'm on my way." Kate replied and hung up. Eyeing the man in front of her she could see the question in his eyes. "I…" Kate tried to explain, but was cut off by the very same man in front of her "I know… you have to go… But before you go…uh… can we talk…really, really talk?" he asked hesitation stained all over his features

"I don't think this is the best time to talk about it, Josh." She answered while getting up. Just as Kate was ready to descend the stairs, his voice stopped her. "It never is."

Her jaw fell open the very moment she heard the words. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, really? Every single time I try to bring the subject up you try to avoid it. Listen, Kate… I'll be doing the nightshift for the next couple of weeks and then I'll leave to Iraq. Either we have this talk now or we'll not have it at all." Josh was starring directly into her eyes, as if looking for an answer. A few moments had passed and he begun to think that she was not going to say anything, but before he could persuade her to give him an answer, she replied something with such coldness in her voice that he didn't knew she possessed. "Then, I would rather not have this conversation at all. I don't even know _why_ you're so concerned about my opinion. After what I heard you sound pretty sure of what you want to do." At the end of her last sentence she was already at the bedroom door kicking it shut.

He supposed that Kate was getting ready for work, but like he said to her, he'd be soon doing the nightshift at the hospital and now that she had a case to work at, Josh was sure that they wouldn't see each other so soon, so he followed her to the bedroom.

"Kate?" he called in low voice. Slowly opening the door, he stepped inside to find her already dressed and brushing her hair. He watched her for a moment or so and then tried again "Kate?" but without success.

After putting her usual necklace with her mother's ring, and her father's watch, she went to grab both her gun and her badge and held them in place. Heading towards the kitchen, Beckett grabbed her car keys and purse and started to call Castle, only to be stopped by Josh's hand on her upper arm.

"Kate would you listen to me? _We_ need to _talk_. This is serious…" He said without leaving her eyes.

"You really want my opinion?" She asked, even though she very well knew the answer.

"Yes" Josh yelled starting to get angry.

"You wanna go? Go. I don't care anymore. I'm tired Josh, really tired." She said as she headed towards the front door.

When she exited her apartment she was fuming… They had had this conversation may times before. Too many times if you asked her. Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she called Castle to inform him they had work to do. After the third ring or so a very sleepy Castle answered the phone. "Hello charming Detective Becket! What can I do for such beauty?"

"Castle are you drunk?" Kate asked. She was grateful for being alone. She was sure she looked like a hot red tomato right now.

"No just sleepy. I was actually having a rather nice dream you know?" he said and he would bet that Beckett was rolling her eyes at him. And he was right.

"Castle go get some coffee and see if you wake up. I'll pick you up in ten?"

"Sounds great. Hey do you want to know what my dream was about?" he asked in a teasing tone, and as he expected, he received a threatening tone from the other side "Castle!" Ok…ok I'm up now. See you in ten Detective." And then he hung up.

By the end of that little talk, Beckett was feeling a bit better. Not from her head and stomach-ache but from her argue/ break up with Josh.

 

* * *

 

After exactly ten minutes, Castle's door bell rang. "Good morning Detective!" Castle greeted her as he opened the door and led her in. "Let me just grab my jacket and we can go fight the _nefarious_ crime." Along with his jacket came a cup of steamy homemade coffee which he handed her with a knowing smile which she shared too. "Thank you" she softly said, and as expected came his sweet answer "Always".

 _And together, they_ _sailed towards_ _the_ _streets_ _of_ _New_ _York, carrying with them passion and poetry, leaving nothing but the rising Sun behind._ At least that was how best-selling author Richard Castle would describe many moments like this.


	2. Recognition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, It took me a bit more time than I expected... anyway, I'll let you know that I may not update the next chapter very fast. I'll have a bunch of exams I have to do in these next weeks, but I'll try to write a bit every day.
> 
> Thanks for the lovely reviews and for adding this story to your favourites and alerts xD
> 
> Disclaimer: I still own nothing since the first chap...

Her limb body rested there, motionless, a white and smooth towel laying upon her covering only the most intimate part of her small back allowing a clear view of the angry red slashes across her porcelain skin. Thick red blood pooled underneath her and surrounded the massaging table. The wall close to her had blood spattered all over, as if some modern painter had shaken his brush several times.

Her bright red hair, pinned up into a messy bun showed off her long neck where laid a perfect fine cut, as if it was a necklace.

The angry slashes across her back mixed and together they formed words, a mad man's words. A man mad enough to kill. _Too close to live_ , they said. And those words were what caught the writer's attention.

"Did he needed to do that?" Castle asked nobody in particular, pointing at the victim's back.

"He? Do you have a theory already? Well that was fast!" Beckett said in a sarcastic tone.

"No, but I'll let you know Detective Beckett that most killers are male. And even though a woman is able to do this, I highly doubt that she did it." He explained a devious smile playing on his lips.

"So you're a profiler now, uh? And may I request your services as to why you believe that our killer is a _he_ and not a _she_?" Beckett said in a teasing mode.

"Women don't like to make a mess. And you might request my services anytime you want for _whatever_ you want… _Detective_ " he answered as he begun waggling his eyebrows in order to make his point in the last sentence.

Beckett shot him one of her deadly glares and Castle knew better as to keep his mouth shut.

Lanie watched with curious eyes, the little exchange between the two, but Kate Beckett's unusually-so-pale-face didn't go unnoticed. Before speaking though, she cleared her throat so as to break the eye contact between these two dumb love birds. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm still here. In fact we _all_ still here, and as much as I like my job, I would really appreciate to get it done with so I can go home and rest."

"Sorry. So what do we got?" Beckett asked, taking a few steps closer to her friend.

Before she answered the question, Lanie whispered a question of herself. She knew something was off, she just didn't know what"You okay, honey?" After seeing Kate's questioning look and small nod, Lanie went down to business. She would have to drag the words out of the Detective's mouth later. "Don't know much. Levidity is fixed; I'd say she died between 7 and 10 pm yesterday. I'll know more once I got her to the lab"

"Ok, thanks Lanie. Do we have an ID?" Beckett asked the two detectives that finished talking to the girl who found the body.

"No ID. Sarah is receptionist here in the spa and says she never saw our vic before. Paid in cash, so no luck on the name." Ryan filled in Beckett with some details about the receptionist, but Rick was no longer listening. Something was bothering him, he just didn't know what was it. But then, it clicked. "If our victim is laying face down, how can Sarah the receptionist know which one of the spa costumers is dead? Did you turned her around while she was in the room, Lanie?" _That_ was bothering him. Details, always about the details.

"Lanie didn't flip the body yet. Sarah said she recognized the vic because of her bracelet…" Esposito explained while pointing towards the woman's wrist "…said she only noticed the bracelet because her boyfriend had offered a similar one for her birthday last month"

"Ok. Ryan, Esposito you two go check if they have surveillance and ask for a list of yesterday regular customers. Me and Castle will go check our victim's locker and see if we can find any leads" Beckett ordered and they all followed.

"On it" Ryan and Esposito said in unison.

"I´ll take the body to the morgue and call you when I'm done" Lanie said before starting towards her M.E. assistant that seemed to be playing with his phone.

Leaving the M.E. with her new lazy assistant, Castle and Beckett headed together towards the locker room.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Castle said. "Call me paranoid but my gut tells me that there's something terribly wrong with this case."

"Well, Castle if we were to trust your gut all the time you get that felling, then all our victims were CIA agents or were involved with CIA in some sort of unthinkable way" Kate said while trying not to laugh. Even though Castle's theories were beyond crazy, sometimes they proved themselves useful. But she would never mention that to him. His ego is big enough as it is.

"Laugh away all you want, but when your _gut_ tells you something you're the first one to pay attention to it." He replied with mocking seriousness.

"Of course I pay attention to is first, Castle. It's _my_ gut. Besides you're just felling that way because the girl is a redhead, and she probably reminds you a bit of Alexis." Beckett said and eyed him from the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah. You're probably right. I didn't see the girl's face but she doesn't appear to have more than 25 years old."

By the time Castle finished talking, they had reached the locker room. The room was painted with nice and warm beige that gave the room a cosy effect, along with the red lockers and dark wooded benches adorning it.

With the key Ryan had given her before, Beckett went looking for the locker with matching numbers. Once she found it she just stood there eyeing it for long moments.

"Won't you open it?" Castle asked confusion thick in his voice.

"My gut tells me that we won't find anything useful inside this locker" Kate said more to herself than to Castle.

"See? You're paying attention to your gut again instead of opening the locker." He said as a form of teasing from the conversation before.

Giving him one of her famous dead glares, she opened said locker only to find what she supposed were the contents of the black purse discarded all over the locker.

"My gut's always right, though." She simply replied.

After checking all the contents inside the locker, she went for the small purse. Even though the purse didn't have much inside, they actually found the victim's wallet and cell phone bag. Pulling both items out she checked the wallet, only to find out what she was already expecting.

"No ID inside. The killer must have been in this locker. He only took her cell phone and her ID…" she said.

"Well, one thing we know for sure: whoever the killer might be, he doesn't want us to know _who_ our victim is." Castle said.

"uh hum. I'll get CSU down here and let's hope they can pull any prints of this stuff. I'll call Esposito and see what he and Ryan had found so far." Castle nodded and waited while Kate talked with Esposito. In his head, he was already formulating a theory, and was so lost in his thoughts that he just caught the last part of Kate's conversation, and all of a sudden he had an idea.

"Keys" he suddenly said

"What was that?" Kate asked while giving him a curious look.

"Do we have keys in that locker?" Castle asked, and without waiting for an answer, he walked over the locker and grabbed the only keys inside it. "Hum… only car keys… Oh... an Auston Martin's keycard!" he said to himself

"Something tells me you're not looking for a key that opens a chest, so care to share with the class?" She watched him jump a little, as if he were in another dimension moments before.

"huh? Oh, sorry! I'm thinking, if the victim has her car keys here, that means she drove all the way from her house to this spa, right?" after receiving an understanding nod from Beckett, he was ready to continue, only to be cut out by Beckett. "So even though she didn't come here straight from home, she needed to have her house keys, which are not here…" and picking up where Beckett left, Castle continued "Which means the killer took them. I've seen this car models online, most of them come with GPS included…" and again Beckett continued after Castle "We find the victim's car… we find where she lives…" With a knowing grin, Castle locked eyes with his friendly detective and continued "We find out where she lives…"

"We find out who she is!" they both said in unison, wearing grins from ear to ear.

Holding the keys closer to his hand, Castle followed his muse to the parking lot. Once they arrived, he pressed the open button in the key card's head. They both thoroughly scanned the area and headed to the silver car.

"Wow!" Castle exclaimed after seeing the car.

"What is it, Castle?" Kate asked, a bit shocked by his outburst.

"' _What is it, Castle?'_ Seriously, Beckett? _This_ is the Auston Martin Virage" Castle said a look of disbelief on his face. Upon sensing that Beckett was not _getting it_ he tried to make himself clearer. "Two-door coupe convertible top body style with 2+2 seating? Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves? All-alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935 cc V12? Kate this beauty goes from 0 to 100 within 4. _6 seconds_. It's one of my dream cars, c'mon!"

Kate just did one of her eye rolls and opened the driver's door. "If you like the car so much why don't you buy it, Castle?"

"Alexis forbid me" He answered, a slight pout on his lips.

"Really? And why is that, _Ricky_?" Beckett teased, while biting on her inner cheek so as not to laugh. He was such a kid sometimes.

"She said I didn't need it, because now, that I spend most of my time with you I don't drive as often as I used to, so I don't need another car. Besides, she said that she had agreed before to let me buy the Ferrari, and the only time it was used, and I quote ' _properly_ ' end of quote, was when you drove it the other night."

"She said that? Smart kid, Castle!" Beckett said in a teasing tone.

"Ah ah, very funny Detective, very funny." Castle said pouting.

Ignoring Castle's little pout facade, she turned the GPS included in the car on and started making some clicks here and there, when finally she found what they were looking for.

"Got it!" Beckett exclaimed "123 Washington Street" as Beckett finished saying the address, Castle was already writing it on his small notebook.

" _Streeeet_ " Castle mumbled as he finished writing the address down "do you wanna go there now or shall we go to the precinct?" he asked.

"Let's head to the 12th... maybe we stop by the morgue before and see if Lanie found anything new. I'll ask CSU folks to go through the car and see what else they can find."

"Can we stay a bit more inside the car?" Castle asked. He sounded like a small child asking for a new toy, which made a small smile of awe slip from Kate's lips, but she had to keep the appearances so she rolled her eyes at him.

Eyes locked with Beckett, Castle was mesmerised with what he saw. Never in his years shadowing her had he seen such a wonderful thing. When she rolled her eyes, the smile she was trying to hide grew a lot bigger and lit up all her face, bringing an extremely addictive glint to her beautiful eyes. He could very well be a best-selling author, but that look in Kate's eyes was all it took to render him speechless, thoughtless, because in that moment, the world stopped spinning, the words disappeared, the sound of his own heart filling his ears and that look of hers, the look where he found himself lost, that look of hers filled his entire heart and warmed it with pure passion and awe. She truly was extraordinary!

"You truly are extraordinary!" he whispered. Castle was sitting in the passenger seat, his face mere inches from Kate's, and when he thought she couldn't be more extraordinary than that, he saw her little blush, which earned her a content smile from the author.

"Oh, what are you? A 2 year-old in a pet shop?" She simply brushed away his commentary. She pushed him away. Not physically but emotionally. It was much easier to just do that rather than accept the fact that she might be falling for Castle. Much easier than the fact that she might be already in love with the author. _'Yeah, right! Me in love with Castle! That's a new one.'_ She found herself thinking. _'But is it really a new one, Kate?'_ Before she could spare more thought about this new question, she was taken aback by the look of hurt in Castle's eyes. The look made her feel bad and hurt too. Hurt for him.

"Come on, Castle. I'll take you to a test drive" Upon her words, the look of hurt was nothing but a memory, being replaced by a big and happy grin. As Ryan once said, he now looked like a kid on Christmas time, with a body under the tree.

"But I'm driving!" Rick stated.

"Not a chance!" Beckett teased.

Most of the ride to the precinct was silent, being the silence only broken when they hit a red light.

"I'm fine, Castle." Beckett said, eyeing him from the corner of her eyes.

"I wasn't asking very loudly, was I?" Castle said, receiving a grin from Kate "But are you sure you're alright? You look different today. And you look a bit pale."

"Yes, Castle. I already told you I'm OK" Kate rolled her eyes, but, was indeed touched by his concern.

"Actually, you're not OK" he said matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?" Beckett was a little shocked by his response. Had he found out about her fight with Josh? Well, that was pretty much impossible.

Upon sensing her confused expression, he settled for an explanation as to why he did such comment. "In the twentieth century, during World War II, the British troops used a sort of code to count the number of killings during the war." He paused, and as he expected, he had now her full attention. Even though she rolled her eyes at him for trying to share his knowledge every time they had a case, Castle knew that Beckett was, in some way, a grown up version of Alexis, always trying to learn more, always curious about something new and different. "That code consisted in one number followed by a 'K', which is the initial of the word 'killings'... Uh, take for instance: if they found... 20 dead people, then the code would be 20K, but if there were no killings, then the code would be 0K, which was and _is_ pronounced as OK. And if you look at the origin of the word, it kind of makes sense. I mean, if there were no killings, then it would be fine. But my point is, you're not OK because you have one killing in your hands... I guess it makes you 1K" When he finished his _not-so-little_ explanation, Castle looked over Beckett to find him starring at him, with a raised eyebrow. "Is the light turning green or what?" Castle asked, a bit surprised that they were still at the same place.

"In case you haven't noticed _Mr. Castle_ we are at the precinct's parking-lot already." Kate said, trying to hide a smile. She actually liked this side of him. This side where he was so engrossed creating either a theory or telling her some amazing and unknown fact, that he seemed to lost track of time, and apparently of movement.

Eyeing the Detective with impossibly wide eyes, Castle slowly turned his face to take in his surrounding and found that Beckett was not messing with him. Returning his gaze to her, he gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry" he simply said. The honesty in his eyes, making Kate's heart skip a beat. Giving him a warm smile she exited the car and started heading to the precinct. "Yeah. Let's see if Lanie has an ID for us"

Opening the door for her, Castle watched Beckett enter the morgue and greet the M.E.

"Hi, Lanie"

"Girl, don't you have anything else to do? I didn't even have time to open her up" The ME retorted, hands on her hips.

"We know that. What we don't know is her ID. Any luck on that?" Castle said while moving towards the body, a thin white sheet covering it.

"No. No luck at all. I've ran her fingerprints when I got here, but she's not in the system. She's pretty young though. I'd set her age between 18 and 25." Lanie said, moving closer to the table where the body was.

"Probable COD?" Kate asked

"As I said before I didn't have the time to make the autopsy." As she spoke, Lanie slowly removed the sheet from the victim's face, allowing a clear look of it. Castle's breath got caught on his throat. His heart abruptly stopping at the sight. Her vivid blue eyes piercing through him. _It can't be_ , he thought, as his face grew almost as pale as hers. _She can't be... oh but she is... How am I gonna tell Mother? She'll be devasted..._

Sensing him quiet, Kate dared a glance in his direction. She almost jumped upon seeing his face. He was almost as pale as the woman lying on the table, his unusually constricted pupils, made him look like ghost.

"Rick, are you feeling alright?" she asked, no more but above a whisper, afraid she would just do worst.

Her calling him by his first name was enough to send those destructive thoughts away. Looking Kate in the eye, he tried his best to give her an answer. At first, he found his voice constricted, but after clearing his throat, his voice sounded more natural.

"I... I think I know the victim... I think I know who she is." By the time he finished, he looked at the verge of tears, but somehow he managed to keep it together.

Apparently, his gut was right this time. But unlike the other times, he prayed it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading xD Don't forget ot review... I may need some little push for next chapter ;)
> 
> A/N: I want to thank my dear friend 'Cosa Nostra' for the little info about the OK word... Just because of that one, this is your chapter xD


	3. I will be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit small but it just felt right to end it up here. Anyway, thank you for the lovely reviews, they really made my day xD I'm so glad you're liking the story so far :)
> 
> I'll have a Biology and Geology exam next week, and I kinda have 4 books to study, but I'll make my best at updating. Don't forget my cookies (aka reviews xD)
> 
> Disclaimer: If I told you I owned Castle would you believe me? Yeah, figured not...

She searched for him in the crowd. All she wanted to do was to reach him and embrace him tightly. She knew something was wrong when she stopped calling them. At first she just brushed the bad thoughts aside and said that there was a good reason to the break of their weekly routine. But the bad thoughts always came anyway. They came down to haunt her at night when she tried to sleep. Images tinted with blood and filled with pain. In those nights, the tears came easily down her porcelain skin.

And again she screened the crowd. He was waiting for her near the railings separating the new arrivals from the rest of the crowd. Rising up her hand, she waved tenderly and he simply smiled and waved back. Oh... how much she'd missed him. How much she missed the long afternoons that the four of them spent together, telling stories and life adventures.

Under the dark sunglasses, a set of wonderfully big hazel eyes locked with a set of warm brown ones. Moving closer to where he stood, she pushed her suitcase along and when they become closer, she slowly removed her sunglasses. _Time has caught up with him._ She thought. He was missing the aura of joy he had when she was among the living. She didn't blame him though. She knew it was hard to lose someone you love when you're a kid and can't quite understand the meaning of the word death, so to lose that someone when you did understand it should me much worse.

They were face to face now. Letting her baggage fall on the ground with a thud, they wrapped their arms around each other. The jolt of emotions was almost too much to bear, but his strong arms, once again, held her in place and stopped her from falling.

"You're so grown up, kiddo!" he said with emotion thick in his voice.

"You look wiser!" She was overwhelmed by this reencounter and it certainly showed off in her British accented voice.

He had to laugh at that. Even when she was a little girl, she refused to believe that people grew older. According to her life philosophy, people had more time to acquire more knowledge, therefore they grew wiser instead of older.

"You're so beautiful... you look a little after your mother you know?" he said with a smile playing on his lips.

"So I was told. Did you tell her anything?" She asked. She was trying to avoid the subject. She knew better than to just say _'I'm sorry'_. It hurt way too much.

"No. I think it'll be an amazing surprise!" he said while they headed to the cab waiting for them at the entrance of the airport.

As they entered the taxi, she gave him a weak smile.

"Jim... I...I don't know what else to say, I mean, I know it hurt to hear it, but I'm sorry. I truly am, uncle."

"It's alright, Ella, really. I know how you feel." He said as he held her hand. "Do you want to go see Kate now, Lady Conoscenza?"

She had to laugh. After all this years he still remembered the nickname Kate gave her after a semester in Italy. "I'll maybe go visit her after I take a bath and if she agrees, I'll take her out to lunch."

"Sounds good." Jim Beckett said, a melancholic smile on his lips. _His Johanna would love to see her again._

He had frozen. Her bright blue eyes locked with his. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he couldn't even talk anymore. He was lost is some kind of trance. Lost and alone, in a foreigner place, frightened. For a man who kills people for a living, you should expect that death barely got to his nerves, but Richard Castle never once before experienced the death of a loved one. Of course when his poker buddy and writer died, he was devastated, yes, but nothing could compare to this. He just hoped that someone saved him, because he couldn't take it any longer.

And as Castle prayed for saviour, Kate Beckett answered his prayers, just as if she was able to read his thoughts and deepest secrets.

What was blue soon became the same shade of white, as the blanket was drawn over her lifeless eyes. A voice as soft as the hand resting on his cheek pulled him out of that lonely island and dragged him to safe ground.

"Rick, look at me, please" Beckett plead.

And he did. Felling the contrast of her warm skin against his freezing one, he slowly met her eyes, putting on them what he couldn't put into words.

As they eyes locked, Castle breathily gasped, his lips now slightly parted.

The look on his face made her heart shatter in thousands of pieces, and she had to fight against her better judgement to pull him into her arms and sooth him, comfort him and embrace him for eternity.

Once again, Lanie watched the exchange between the duo. Like Kate, she too had been caught off guard by the writer's response to the body. Looking back at it, the victim kind of reminded her of Castle's daughter, and she mentally slapped herself for not having foresight it when she turned the body. At the time the victim reminded her of someone she knew, she just couldn't figure who it was, but again, there were days where she thought she knew the victims or thought they seemed too familiar, so she had brushed it off.

It was only moments after they eye lock that Castle was coming back to his senses. As soon as he felt that he would succeed talking if tried, Castle took a deep breath and started using his voice.

"Amber Heisenberg." Only after clearing his throat did he continue. "She's sort of my niece... She's the granddaughter of my mother's sister... When she was little, she looked alike Alexis, you know? Her parents were absent most of the time so I offered to stay with her when they were working... She was a sweet kid... she was like a sister to Alexis."

"Hey, I tell you this, why don't you go home and give Alexis a big hug? I'm not leaving any time sooner, and I'll call you if I have updates." Beckett said, her voice sweet and barely above a whisper.

"But I have nothing to go home to." Castle's voice was thick with emotion, he just wanted to burst, but somehow, the hand that Kate had on his cheek, seemed to hold him together, seemed to make him stronger. "Alexis is with Ashley visiting Stanford and mother is in some spiritual retreat"

"Then go call her. You and I both know you need to."

Castle all but nodded. As Kate's hand slid down from his face, Castle felt his emotions rise up in his chest.

After one more look at the body, he turned and went for the door, while Kate Beckett watched with emotions of her own starting to surface.

After Castle exited the room, Beckett let out a breath she didn't know was holding.

"Do we have a probable COD? Exsanguination maybe?" Beckett merely asked, her mind focusing on a certain writer.

"That was what I thought first, with the blood pool around the body and all, but then, I changed my mind when I turned the body." Lanie said as she removed the blanket from the victim's face, and pointing towards her throat "The cut on her neck appears to be too deep. Deep enough to cut through the main artery."

"Who about the cuts on her back, can you tell me something about them?" Kate asked. She knew how Castle was felling. She knows how hard it is when it strikes close to home.

"Hopefully, they were made post-mortem. Just give me about a couple hours to do the autopsy." Eyeing her friend, she knew something was wrong, and it wasn't only the case. "Honey, what's wrong?" Lanie said, but received the ' _I'm ok but I'm lying_ ' look from Beckett. "And don't gimme that look. Spill"

If it were other times, Kate would have found an excuse to run away from the conversation, but given all the events of the day, she was just too tired to argue and figured it might do her some good to unburden a bit. After she took a deep breath, she started. "I... This day has been just... a bad day." She said, running her hand through her hair. "I fought with Josh again... but this time things got a bit out of hand... I mean... I don't even know if we broke up." After taking a deep breath once again, she continued "My head is just killing me, I feel like someone beat up my stomach to pulp... And, now... now I find that my murder victim is Castle's niece... Of course I'm not alright Lanie..." Looking up her friend on the eyes, Kate let a bit of her walls' cement fall "But I have to be... and I will be... for Castle... always"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please dear readers, feed by baby cookie birds *winks*
> 
> A/N: I want to thank Dai for the insight on Jim Beckett's eye colour. You can check her tumblr @chaoticfairytell
> 
> I also want to thank Ella Nora for letting me use her name in one of my characters. Tumblr @forensicanthropologist
> 
> Thank you dearies xD


	4. Life was their book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay... It took way much longer than I expected. My exams got on the way, not to mention the emotional state I'm at after the season finnale. Anyway. I just love you guys.
> 
> I'm so thankful that a lot of you added the story to your favourites and alert... I feel flatered, indeed!
> 
> Disclaimer: Idea for the story and Amber and Ella are mine... other than that, everything belongs to ABC's Castle
> 
> Now dear readers, by all means, enjoy the journey!

After closing the door behind his, Castle found it hard to stand and take a hold of his emotions. Thinking that less than 24 hours ago he had been talking with her, telling her that he missed the old days and the movie nights with her and Alexis. Castle hadn't seen her in a long time, but talking with Amber that afternoon after lunch had been amazing. She sounded amazingly happy with the new apartment she bought with her own money, and with the fact that her university colleague and friend was moving to New York to work with her.

Despite the fact that she sounded truly happy about the way her life was going, Rick knew something was bugging her, and her request to meet with him as soon as work allowed it, only proved his point. Less than 24 hours ago she was happy with life. Right now, life was not so happy without her.

The thought of her dead was too much. Resting his back against the cold wall of the corridor, Castle took a shaky breath and with trembling fingers he reached for his phone.

Rick knew she would be devastated. Amber was like Alexis' elder sister. But either way, he needed to hear his daughter's voice and make sure she was safe and sound.

Using the seed-dial function of his phone, he called Alexis, who pick up after the second ring.

"Hi, dad! Who you doing?"

"I've been better. How's Stanford?" he asked, trying not to drop the bomb without warning, but she knew better.

" Fine. Me and Ash are having a great time here, though I'm pretty sure you didn't call to ask that. What's going on, dad?" Alexis gave little time for Rick to explain, a sign that she was starting to grow worried "Is is Kate?"

"Uh... Pumpkin, darling I... I need you to sit down" Castle said, trying to sound calm.

"Oh my God! It's Kate isn't it... Is she hurt? Don't tell me she was shot... Wait... it can't be... but God help me... Is Kate dead? I'm so sorry, dad... I...I don't know what else to say... I..." Alexis knew she was rambling, but couldn't avoid it. Kate was like family.

In other times, Castle would have found his daughter's rambling cute and her caring about Kate really touching, but there were hard times.

"Hey, slow down darling. Kate's fine..." he sweetly voiced.

"Then what is it dad... I need to know" she pleaded.

"It's... huh... It's Amber...she...she was murdered, sweetheart." Rick managed to say, without breaking.

A sharp inhaling sound came from the other end, followed by a hoarse voice from the younger red-head.

"What? Amber is dead? It must be some kind of mistake... you talked to her yesterday after lunch, maybe they confused the victim, dad. Amber can't be dead... she can't..." She was cut mid sentence by the heart wracking sobs. Warm tears were streaming down her face, like a river slides within its margins.

"I wish it was a mistake, honey... but it truly is her. I'm sorry, pumpkin." Now, Castle was being the hand on her face that held her together and soothed the pain.

"Did... did she suffered, dad?" Alexis asked, a bit calmer now and with raw voice.

"I have no idea... they hadn't done the autopsy yet." He merely said.

"I'm going to catch the next flight to New York. I'll call you with the arrival hour."

"There's no way, you're coming back now. There's a killer out there and we don't know if he is trying to attack our family, Alexis. I want you to stay there with Ashley. It will be good for you. Try having fun with him, you'll feel better after, darling"

"I know you can't promise, but do you promise everything will be ok?" she softly asked, a hint of hope lingering on her voice.

"Yes, I promise." And he meant it. After years working with Beckett, he knew better than to make such promises, but in this case, Castle knew he would be able to keep up his promise. Alexis was very strong, and he was sure she would make it through.

It wasn't until Rick heard Ashley's voice on the background that he remembered where they were. Exhaling loudly, he tried his best to sound more cheery, even though a big part of him was not faking the happiness since he knew his Alexis was alright. "Now go take a walk with Ashley and try not to give this much thinking, okay?" He really was felling better, Alexis' voice did sooth him a bit.

"Okay. Thanks dad." and as if reading his mind, she continued "For telling me. I love you, dad!"

"I know... and that's why I love you too, pumpkin! Have fun!" And with that, they both hung up.

Taking a deep breath, Castle noticed that the two women inside the morgue were still talking.

He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning, but as his hand was about to connect with the door, Castle stopped dead in his tracks. The conversation between the two women was not about dead people anymore. _Have I heard correctly?_ He thought. _Kate just broke up with Josh?_ Castle set his hand down and silently neared the door.

He listened Beckett's next words intently. From what appeared she might be getting sick. That's why he found her so pale today. Now he knew what was off on her.

As Castle prepared to make a mental note to ask her if she had taken anything for the pain, Kate's next words took him completely aback, and for the second time that day, his heart skipped a beat and his whole world stopped spinning.

In the moment Beckett was having problems of her own, she was willing to throw them aside and embrace his own issues as if it were hers. In a moment of weakness she was more than willing to fight it off just to be there for him. _"Always"_ she said. And Castle didn't even need to look into her fields of green and chocolate to just know she was being more than honest when she said it.

Silence fell over the other room and Castle assumed that Lanie was trying to catch her friend's eye, without success since Kate was doing a very good job looking down her crossed arms and trying to keep her voice steady.

When it looked like the women next door wouldn't be engaging a conversation anytime soon, the writer took the opportunity to push open the door, vowing that like Kate, he would be there for her too. Always.

"I've talked to Alexis. She's fine, I mean, as fine as you can be when you just discovered that your closest thing to a sister was murdered." Castle said as he entered the room, his voice low as a whisper, but Kate still jumped a little when the morgue doors opened. He was not supposed to have heard the talk, and he knew it. Deciding he didn't want her to discover that he overheard the conversation between the two women yet, Castle kept talking. "I told her to stay out of town until we know it's safe to come back, and while Amber's death might not have anything to do with attacking my family, I rather have my daughter and her boyfriend alone in a hotel room."

"Good choice, Castle. Have you talked to your mother yet?" Beckett said to him.

"It's useless calling her. She refused to take her cell phone with her to the retreat. And if things go according to plan she's not coming back until the next couple of weeks." Castle explained, his eyes focussing on the white sheet covering his niece.

"We'll have the case solved by then." Kate could only hope this was true.

"Hopefully" came Castle's low response, emotion clouding his voice once more.

"Can we get out of here? I mean, I just don't think I can accept it just yet, you know? And being here so close it just, you know..."

"Hey, it's ok. I know the feeling" Beckett said, locking eyes with him. "Let's go meet the guys and start writing the next chapter."

Her comment earned her a small smile from the author. Castle was glad she considered them a story. And what a great story they were! She was the letters, their family were the words, he was the paper and life was their book. If it hadn't been such a sad way to end a chapter; he might even give her one of his smartass-remark.

Their trip to the bullpen didn't take long. A few words had been said during the elevator ride about how Alexis handled the news, but that was it. They both figured that silence was the best way to support each other right now.

The elevator doors opened showing detectives Ryan and Esposito starring at the screen of Ryan's computer.

"Anything new about the victim?" Beckett asked both detectives as she levelled herself with the screen.

"Not much. " Esposito started and handled one of the manilla folders on top of the desk. "We know that our victim signed as Christine Blake. We're looking into the database to see if we can find her first name."

"I... I don't think that's necessary." This earned Castle a deadly glare from both men. Was he telling them how to do their job again?

"Her name is Amber Heisenberg, she's Castle's niece." Beckett explained.

"Sorry bro. I had no idea." Came Esposito's apologised as Ryan did the same "Yeah, sorry Castle."

Castle gave both men a nod as he avoided their gaze.

Kate observed Castle's behaviour from the corner of her eye and her heart broke a little more, but she knew they had to get to work. "Ryan, Esposito I need you to go through the surveillance tapes from the crime scene."

"We already did boss." Ryan informed.

"Yeah, cameras were turned off around the closing time. We know our victim hide in the janitors' closet." Esposito concluded.

"Ok, check it again. Pay special attention to the people our victim talked to; made contact, something that tells us what was she might be doing there. I got a felling that she wasn't looking for a massage." Both men nodded and headed back to work.

Beckett turned to Castle and as much as she hated to do this now, she knew she had to. "Castle..."She started in a low and soft voice.

At the mention of his name, he turned to look at her. She knew where she was getting to. He knew she had to make him some questions. "Can you ask me when I sit down? I don't think I have fully accepted it"

Kate only nodded. She knew exactly how he felt. She herself had felt that way when her mother's life slipped from life's hands itself.

Beckett led them to the room where they usually talked to the victims' family and silently closed the door behind her.

Castle sited in the middle of the biggest couch and Kate settled beside him.

"Rick, I know this is going to be difficult, but I need everything you can remember about her." She told him, knees almost touching.

"I still have to call her grandmother, you know? She'll be devastated. Amber meant the world to her, especially after her parents died" Castle was fiddling with his fingers, his blue eyes analyzing their movement.

"Her parents died? When?"

"They were killed in the 9/11, they were in one of the flights that hit the Pentagon. They were out of the country most of the time... I didn't knew them very well and I don't think Amber did either." Castle took a brief pause to deeply breathe "They had this business in Europe... from what she told me her parents spent their time out in Sweden and Germany."

This was proving to be at least ten times harder than the usual procedure. Kate gave him a small nod. "Do you remember the last time you talked to her?"

"Yesterday after lunch. She told me she had just moved in to her new apartment. She was beyond happy that she had bought it with her own money! She didn't stop mentioning how amazing it was and how she felt home." Castle took a pause to compose himself. Even if he wasn't crying, the tightness inside his heart was too much to maintain a clear voice.

At that moment, Beckett let her emotional part take over for a moment. Reaching for his hand, she held it tightly with her smaller one. After a few moments, she felt him squeeze her hand lightly and she knew he was ready to continue.

"She was a lawyer, you know? She was only 25 and was already planning to open her own company."

The pride on Rick's voice made Kate smile. He never ceased to amaze her. Even in a dark and difficult time to him, Castle was always able to put even a tinniest smile on her lips.

"Do you remember anything else from the conversation? Something she might had let slip unconsciously? A moment she sounded more down?" She had to keep asking questions, she knew that.

Castle took a moment to recall the moment and after some time he realised a probably very important thing he'd forgot to mention. Kate.

"Now that you mention it, yes!" How could had he forgotten such detail? "There was a moment when I asked her about work. You know, how things are going, which cases was she working on, that sort of stuff, when her turns deadly serious." Castle made a brief pause to glance at Beckett. As a nod of approval was given by the woman in front of him, he continued his explanation. "Amber says that we should meet very soon and that I should bring you with me. It sounded strange so I asked why, but she said it was something that couldn't be discussed by phone. Before hung up, she told me she was working on this case that would be of your personal interest."

"A case? I don't quite see the connection here, Rick. I mean the only case I can think of being of my personal interest..." Both set of eyes widened with realisation.

"Your mother's..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *tap* *tap* Hello there! now that you finished reading such amazing chapter (my ego just bursts after midnight) you can leave me a sweet/bitersweet cookie (or review if want)
> 
> Thanks again for reading this, I live to serve my eager readers. I now bid you good-bye!


	5. Truth and support

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay... but as I said I have final exams and I just did one today. I'll not joke around today. I just found out that a friend of mine is very ill... This chapter is for him. Stay strong!
> 
> Disclaimers: I still don't own Castle's ABC

She pushed open one of Plaza suit's door. She really hated to spend such amount of money for a couple of days in a hotel room; it would be rather more practical and less expensive if she slept on her friend's place. But her aunt made it clear when she said that she would only allow her trip to New York if she stayed at the Plaza until they find her a place to herself.

Ella had lived most of her life in the UK with her aunt Nellie.

Aunty Nells as Ella called her gave her the best education anyone could hope for. She'd studied Law in Oxford and made her aunt proud by not only graduating top of her class but also jumping a year and graduating earlier a girl her age should graduate. And with one year on high school and another in university, Ella was able to graduate at 21 years-old, which was enough to catch many law firms' attention.

After arranging all her things, Ella picked up the phone to call her friend and tell her she's arrived, but the only thing she got was her voice mail. Deciding to try again later and having a glimpse of her wrist watch, she moved to the bathroom to take a nice and warm bath. Since it was only ten in the morning, Ella would still have time before she went to the precinct and take Kate for lunch.

Silence fell over them like a dark cloud of smoke. Neither of them pronounced a spoken word. Thoughts running through their minds like a merciless tornado.

The cloud became tighter as time went by. Their eyes entwined as if they were true lovers' fingers.

Neither one of them knew what to say. What would you say to someone whose mother's murder was the reason to another murder? And what would you say to someone whose family member was murder because of another murder?

Beckett seemed to find something to say anyhow. Castle didn't know what to expect from her words. He didn't know what to expect until she looked away. She was going to hide again.

"We don't know for sure, Castle. Maybe it has nothing to do with my mom's case. Maybe she just wanted some insight into another murder case."

Castle wanted to laugh and if the situation at hand was different he would laugh. He knew her too well.

"I don't think so, Kate. We know better." Castle could see her walls clutching together.

All of a sudden, she stood up. Determination on her gaze and strength on her figure and before she uttered a word, a deep sigh escaped her lips.

"Well, we won't know for sure until we start working. Let's go to her place and see if we can find something to chew on for a while." And with that she left the room.

He could see Beckett talking to Esposito. It probably was about the case since Esposito only nodded.

As Castle stood up from the couch, Beckett made her way back to the room where he was. She had been avoiding his eyes ever since she had broken the silence.

"You ready?" she asked gazing the floor. She already had her jacket on. Castle assumed she'd grabbed it when she was talking to Esposito. In a few steps, he approached the spot where she was and when he was standing right in front of her they headed together to the elevator.

The trip to Amber's place was calm and uneventful. From time to time Castle would steal a glance in Kate's direction and when she thought he wasn't looking, Beckett would do the same.

After a brief talk to the doorman about the victim, Kate and Rick went to the floor that held Amber's apartment. When they arrived, they both stopped in front of the closed door.

Turning her back to the door and facing Castle, Beckett softly touched his arm. Meeting his eyes for the first time since they left the precinct, Beckett spoke softly. "You ready for this? If you want you can stay out here and wait until I..."

Castle cut her right off. They needed to stick together in a moment so hard like this. He vowed to stay strong for her and he would never break his promised.

"There's no way I'll let you alone in there. When I said I'd always be with you, I meant it, Kate."

"I know Rick. I know you do. But this is going to be hard and if you don't want to go in I understand." Their eyes were still locked and like so many times before, they were having a different conversation.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine, Kate. As long as you're with me..." A soft and affectionate smile played on their lips. Their eyes speaking louder than ever. Their minds racing and their hearts aching for each other.

Slowly, Beckett removed her hand form Castle's shoulder and turned to open the door. Silently they entered the victim's apartment as emotions filled their whole bodies.

As they stepped inside, all they could see was a bunch of furniture tossed around the lobby and turned upside down. The green armchairs and sofas that once adorned the lobby could be found near the main entrance, the stairs and the door that led to the kitchen. What was once a beautiful glass coffee table lay now broken beside the terrace door.

Paintings with cuts all over and away from their usual spot on the walls created paths of circles and lines on the floor.

Once in the kitchen, Castle and Beckett could see knives and glass fragments scattered all over the floor. The opaque red table was fallen by the refrigerator. Cabinets empty and water running down the open door of the refrigerator were some of the many signs that someone was looking for something very important.

As they exited the kitchen and moved upstairs and to check the main suit, they were greeted by bed sheets blocking the entrance. Pictures fallen on the dark wooden floor, clothes all over the room and if it wasn't for the slashed mattress that could very well be described as the room of a lousy teenage girl.

Neither of them had spoken since they entered the apartment. Maybe it was because the victim was Castle's family or maybe it was from the sock. They had clung to each other during the 'trip' around the house and even though the house was silent, Beckett never took her hand away from her gun, that so much like Castle, clung by her side.

Moving away from her side, Castle slowly moved towards the dresser in front of the bed. Bending his knees, he picked up a broken frame and carefully removed the shattered glass away from the picture.

For a moment Beckett watched Castle's actions, but quickly followed him. As Castle stood up, Beckett stretched her head so it was almost resting on his shoulder.

Feeling the slight movement behind him, Castle brought the picture up a little more so that Kate could have a clear look at it. The picture showed a little red head sitting on a much younger Castle. At first Kate thought the little girl was Alexis, but after looking intently into her eyes she realised that it was probably Amber, since Alexis had baby blue eyes and Amber had more of mint alabaster coloured eyes.

"I remember this" Castle said, his fingers softly caressing the picture. "It was on her fifth birthday. Her parents were away and I asked her what she would like to do on her birthday. You know what she told to me?" After felling her shake of head on his shoulder he continued. "She told me she wanted to see the inside of a courthouse. To know what happened to bad people when they were caught."

The way he said it, the note of pride and happiness on his voice made Beckett's heart swell.

"Did you took her?" she asked.

"I did! I had a lawyer friend and she said it was ok to take her there. We visited the courtroom, the dead archive... Amber loved it. By the end of the day she still had that radiant smile and she even gave me one of her favourite furry stuffed animals to thank me."

They were smiling to each other when a shrilling noise penetrated the air. Turning their heads to the source of such sound, Castle and Beckett listened intently while someone left a message on the victim's phone.

"Hi, it's Brains! I just wanted to tell you that I'm already in the city. I'll be heading to the precinct to catch up and then we can meet wherever you want. See you later then."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other, both knowing this could be the break they needed for the case to roll. After a quick glance to the watch they decided to leave the victim's apartment and head for the precinct to meet the owner of the call.

"Well, it's almost noon, so if we want to find out whom that was, I suggest we go to the precinct." Castle suggested a small glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, let's go. I'll call CSU to sweep the apartment and send in the details from the crime scene."

Awhile later, they arrived at the precinct. The first thing they did was asking Ryan and Esposito if a woman had appeared at noon. The answer was negative. Deciding to wait until 12.30 pm before going to lunch, Castle and Beckett settled on their usual seats.

Beckett was analysing the case file, and their routine wouldn't be considered broken if Castle wasn't so quiet. Kate didn't blame him at all, as a matter of fact she, more than anyone else understood what he was going through. But nonetheless she decided to break his silence.

"Want a cup of coffee?" Kate asked with a soft smile on her lips.

"I would love to" he said, a smile as soft as hers on his lips too.

It wasn't much of a response but it had been more than what she was expecting. Closing the manilla folder in front of her, Beckett stood up from her seat and headed to the break room.

A minute or too had passed since Kate left her desk when a brunette girl approached Rick. Her voice was soft and soothing.

"Excuse me! I'm looking for Detective Kate Beckett?" Maybe it was the voice itself, maybe it was the British accent, but Castle quickly raised his head at the sound of such voice.

He wanted to be helpful and he wanted to call Kate but when he met the girl's eyes he stopped breathing. Was he going insane? How could the unknown girl's eyes be so much alike Kate's?

Castle's confusion and unbelief state were interrupted by the soft voice again.

"I assume you are Rick Castle, am I right?"

His name seemed enough to break his trance.

"Uh... Yes, yes. I'm Rick Castle. I'm sorry but what was your question?"

"It's quite alright! I'm Ella Nora Hayner. I was wondering if you knew were Detective Kate Beckett was."

The question didn't need an answer however. The small crash near the break room's door spoke for itself.


	6. Happy Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know! I deserve punishment for the long delay. I have no excuse except a horrible writer's blockage and a brand new book for me to read and finish in the same day I received it.
> 
> I want to thank you guys for everything... The alerts I got made my days and surely kept me going! Thank you also for the fantastic reviews!
> 
> Disclaimer:I do not own a thing except the additional characters in this story. All other characters belong to ABC's Castle and therefore it's producers and directors.
> 
> Without further ado...

Silence fell over them once again. The sweet smile Ella had when she had arrived the precinct fell of her lips as soon as her eyes locked with Kate's.

Castle changed his glance back and forth between the two women, still in state of shock. He had seen enough pictures of Kate in her early teens and this new girl was almost identical. Apart from the almost doll-like lips and the lighter brown hair, they could have been twins.

With their entire background story and the too many years away from each other, emotions seemed too strong for both of them to formulate any words. The emotions they were feeling however were completely different from one another. While Ella seemed to be happy to find her great friend again, Kate was having a hard time not to lock her in the precinct with a protection detail on her 24/7. The thought that Ella might be the one calling Castle's niece's apartment was enough to haunt her.

Sever moments passed without a word being spoken, but at least, Ella seemed to gather the courage to break the silence.

"Tempesta..." Ella said with a smile lingering on her lips.

"Conoscenza…" Kate responded, a smile evident in her voice. Even though Kate's mind was still full of unanswered questions she couldn't keep the enormous joy she felt when she saw Ella.

"You're… God! You're perfect!" Ella said, never breaking the eye contact.

"Sais the one who never believed in perfection…" Beckett said in a teasing tone. Almost the same tone she used when teasing Castle.

The comment made the slight smile on Ella's mouth grow onto a grin as teasing as Kate's words.

"Well, my view of things may have changed in the past years. But I still do believe that no one, except from God, is perfect." And much to Castle's shock and bewilderment, Ella rose one of her eyebrows the way he though only Beckett capable of.

"I thought you didn't believe in God either." It wasn't until now that Kate realized how much she missed these moments with her almost-sister Ella.

"Life got in the way…" and this time, the teasing expression on Ella's eyes vanished giving room for a vulnerable child-like glow. The grin dropped from her lips as a rose petal falls on the ground in the summer. This expression didn't last more than mere seconds, but both Castle and Beckett noticed it. "But I was just teasing… You look fantastic, Kate!" and the teasing smile was back on her face.

"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself." Kate teased.

Castle couldn't believe. He was both shocked and amazed. This girl Ella could easily be Kate's sister. But he wasn't. If Kate had a sister she would have told him by now, right? But there was something on way they teased each other, it seemed that they were used to do that every day.

Sensing the state of hurt and confusion on Castle's gaze, Kate decided it was best to introduce Ella. The poor man had had his dose of hurt today, she didn't want to make it worst.

"I don't know if you've already met but either way, Ella, this is Richard Castle, my partner" as Kate had predicted, the word _partner_ was enough to bright Castle's eyes a bit. "Castle, this is Ella, my _cousin_."

Gilt flashed across Castle's for doubting Kate for a moment, but he could hardly be blamed. Sensing it was best just to be polite he broke his long silence.

"Pleasure, to meet you Ella!"

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Castle." Ella smiled. Her smile was not like Kate's, Castle noticed. Kate's seemed brighter. Ella's was more like Alexis's smile. It was more innocent and sweet. But both smiles warmed his heart right away.

"Oh please call me Rick. I'm too young to be Mr. Castle." He replied with is charm boy tone and smile.

"Alright then, Rick!"

"Ella, can I ask you a question?" Beckett asked even though she knew the answer. After what looked like a noise of approval and a nod Kate continued " How did you know where I was working?"

"I never understood why you still make questions you have the answer too." Ella answered with a knowing grin.

"My dad?" Kate asked again.

"Indeed" Ella answered. "Well I have a question of myself too. Can I buy you lunch, Lady Tempesta?"

Biting her lower lip as she so often did, Kate glanced on Castle's direction before answer. "Well, this isn't exactly the moment… I mean…Castle's…"

"I'll be fine Beckett. I'm a grown adult. I can take care of myself." Castle interrupted.

"I'm sorry but I'm not leaving you alone now. I keep my promises." Kate said.

Castle was about to speak again, but Ella cut him.

"You could join us. It'll be fun." And as if sensing what Castle was going to say next, she continued. "I intend to stay in town for good. Me and Katie here will have plenty of time to catch up with one another."

Beckett eyed him expectantly, unsure of what he would say.

"Only if you two don't mind" Castle said, only to be met with a pair of raised eyebrows. Each from both ladies.

"Ok" he said. His voice small and hesitant.

After some discussion they all decided it would be more practical and they would be more relaxed if they went to _Remy's._ Sometimes fancy things were just a little too boring.

Instead of taking the car, they walked to the small diner. Most of the short trip was spent talking about nothing or laughing of either the confused or shocked expression Castle had on his face.

Rick thought that after a while with Ella he would notice less how she and Kate looked alike. But that didn't happen. In fact, he was more amazed than shocked. How could two cousins look so identical? And he wasn't even talking about their looks. The way they walked, the way they avoided hurtful feelings, the way their lips turned slightly upwards whenever he joked. They were all identical. Castle could swear he'd seen twins that were more different than the two cousins. But there was something about the way both women shared their emotions with the world. Both of them shielded themselves with thick invisible walls. But unlike Kate, Ella seemed, how could he put it, she seemed more carefree than she actually was. Nonetheless, Castle was no one to judge her and if he had to 'write' her story, he would say she had been badly hurt by someone she cared about. Either that or some deadly experience worst than what Johanna Beckett's murder was to Kate.

After more laugher and light talk, the three finally made it to the small diner. They all agreed to take the void table by the window looking restless streets. Once everyone was seated, Kate and Rick facing each other and Ella by Kate's left side, the trio placed their orders and kept chatting until their food arrived.

But curiosity was stronger than Castle so he finally broke the comfortable silence that somewhat settled over.

"So…" he begun, twirling a fry on his small pile of ketchup on his plate "Tell me, if it isn't probing, what's with the nicknames?" Castle asked, his blue eyes glistening with pure curiosity, almost like the look a four year old would get while observing any kind of wildlife creature.

Both women eyed each other before sharing a knowing smirk. Then Kate spoke, her voice low and seductive.

"Oh, Castle… Do you think you could handle the truth?" Beckett toyed with a fry along her lips before biting down on is slowly, painfully slowly if you asked Castle who almost choked on his chocolate fudge brownie shake.

It wasn't until the two women burst into laughter that he realized Kate was just pushing his buttons as always.

"Haha… very funny, ladies." He said flatly. "Now seriously, why Tempesta and Conoscenza? I'm just curious."

At last, Ella gave in after sharing a look with Beckett.

"I guess at the time I could have chosen Venus or Aphrodite as well, but they were vain and too self centered." Ella begun to explain.

"Oh, why Detective! I had no idea you were an aphrodisiac amongst male teens…" Castle quickly replied, a wide and teasing grin plastered all over his face.

Beckett merely rose her eyebrow mocking annoyance. "An aphrodisiac… Really Castle?"

"Sorry. Couldn't help it" he said, his grin never leaving his lips. "So why Tempesta?"

"Well, as I was saying" Ella continued "Both Gods seemed inappropriate in a certain way. So I had to find a word that included it all: power, gorgeousness, intelligence, _pride_ and most importantly strength and determination. And like Katie here faced everything in life as a challenge and not an obstacle and everything she set her mind to she always ended up succeeding. So I took this word, 'Tempesta', which is Italian for 'storm' and made every dictionary and encyclopedia flattered to have such word printed on it. Even though Aphrodite described perfectly her power around boys… especially _bad_ boys…"

The last part made, if possible, Castle's grin grow even bigger and Kate had to bite the inside of her cheeks so as not to give in just yet.

"May I ask what was _that_ for?" Kate asked, the corner of her lips turning up slightly in amusement.

"Payback…" Ella said while expecting Kate to raise an eyebrow. After she did, Ella continued "Payback for all the nights when you kicked me out of your room because you were talking to your boyfriend of the week?" she finished with a teasing grin.

"Okay… Fare enough." Kate said "But now my revenge has come m' lady" she said as she playfully narrowed her eyes at Ella "Castle, meet my personal encyclopedia, or 'Google' if you want."

"Pleasure" Castle greeted Ella playfully "I take it her name has something to do with intelligence or memory, am I right?"

"You're close. This lady here kept me awake all night reciting from _memory_ facts about everything, novels, poetry, theories, laws of physics, crazy mathematical theorems and all that genius stuff. She was only seven years old and she already knew the name of all the bones in our body from heart. So her nickname means knowledge. Ella was the one who helped me with crazy algebra equations and physics and God knows what else. If you ask her anything she'll answer it without missing a bit, and if she miraculously happens to not know the answer, you'll have it by tomorrow morning as to why it is that way. But what she really likes are riddles. "

Castle eyed Ella with a certain awe while listening Kate's words intently. Then all of a sudden, Castle's eyes got that glint of when he was plotting something.

"May I challenge you then, Lady Conoscenza?" He asked with a mock evil grin growing upon his lips.

"Indeed my Lord! I shall never retreat from such thing." Ella replied playfully, her accent even thicker. "So Mr. Castle, what are thy rules?"

"I dare thee to answer three riddles of mine and I will answer three of yours. The one that gets all the answers right wins. The looser has to buy dinner to feed the three of us." Castle said, trying to use a British accent himself.

"Challenge accepted, then. Lady Tempesta, you'll decide who's the winner" Upon a single nod from Kate and a wide grin from Castle, their little game begun.

"I'll be the first to ask the question." Castle eyed his competitor with narrowed eyes and a challenging smirk. After receiving Ella's nod, he continued "So tell me m' lady, there are sixty cups on a table. If one falls down, then how many remain?" he asked while waggling his eyebrows.

"Seriously, Rick? I live in England. Tea is my drink of choice." Ella answered, smiling at Castle's pout "There'll remain five _tea_ cups on the table." She said triumphantly. "Now my turn. You're a best-selling novelist, so you have to know this: From which 7 letter word, if you take out 4 letters, you will have one left?"

Kate and Ella watched as a thoughtful expression crossed Rick's face for a few moments before his eyes light up when he found the all-too-easy answer.

"Someone... That was tricky... Now, I dare you to name all numbers from 1 to 100 that have the letter 'a' in their spelling." Castle said, a devilish smile tugging on his lips.

Before answering, Ella thought for a moment running her mind trough a quick inspection of each number.

"None." She answered a bit hesitantly.

"Correct!" Castle beamed.

"And now the last riddle. So, imagine yourself driving on a highway on a windy day. Suddenly you notice some people standing by the side of the road, and you slow down. You learn that the people include your best friend, an ailing old lady and your dream girl..." Castle eyed Beckett before returning his full attention to the riddle at hand. "Now, the ailing lady is dying and requires immediate medical help. In another case you are getting only one chance to spend a day with your dream girl, and of course you can't leave your best friend. So what would you do in order to help the lady to reach the hospital? Remember, that your car can carry ONLY TWO people: the driver and one passenger."When Ella was finished she smiled smugly at Rick before leaning back on the chair.

Rick seemed to be debating for a moment and after running the best options on his mind he ended up saying "Against my will of taking with me the girl of my dreams, I chose asking her phone number and take the poor old lady to the hospital. Maybe the hot girl will notice my kind heart and I can become one of her conquests more easily"

Even though everyone was smiling, the last part didn't go unnoticed by Beckett.

There was a brief moment of silence where a set of blue eyes locked with a set of green ones, telling words that could never be spoken. That was until Kate decided to break the contact and begun to eat again.

"As endearing as it sounds I don't think that's the correct answer." Kate said only to be met with a questioning eyebrow from her partner. "Too much sleepless nights with this Miss here." She ended up explaining.

"Kate's right. It's very thoughtful of you, but it's not the correct answer. It's a good one, although I have one that could suit you better." Ella said.

"And what is that?" he asked, his eyebrow still up on a questioning expression.

"You could ask your best friend to drive the lady to the hospital and then you were able to stay with your dream girl! How about that?" she asked, imitating Castle's expression.

"Much better. How didn't I think of that?" Castle asked incredulous. But Kate knew better. In fact, she knew much better.

"You did. But you also thought that your answer would look better in front of two women." Kate teased.

"You wound me, Detective!" Castle said while gripping his shirt above his heart mocking hurt. "But it doesn't make it less true." He ended up admitting.

Both women shook their heads in disbelief whilst trying to hide their smiles.

"So I guess I nailed every single riddle you gave me" Castle said smugly.

"I guess you did." Ella confirmed.

"Now let's see who's going to buy dinner. You answer correctly and Beckett has to feed us. What do you say?" Castle said. It was more to tease Kate than to any other purpose but anyway, his mission was accomplished nonetheless.

"Agreed!" Ella said.

"No" Kate replied almost instantaneously.

This time Ella and Castle were the ones that shared a grin while Beckett studied them cautiously.

"Some consider this the world's hardest riddle. Even though 97% of Harvard graduates can't figure this riddle out, 84% of kindergarten students were able to figure this out in 6 minutes or less. Are you ready?" Rick challenged.

"Yes" Ella said as she leaned forward. Her full attention turned to Castle's voice and the riddle.

"I turn polar bears white and I will make you cry. I make guys have to pee and girls comb their hair. I make celebrities look stupid and normal people look like celebrities.  
I turn pancakes brown and make your champagne bubble. If you squeeze me, I'll pop. If you look at me, you'll pop. Can you guess the riddle?"

When Castle finished, Ella's mind was already running through all clues he'd gave her, checking all the possibilities, double meanings, all you need to do before figuring a riddle out. But none of this was working. She first came up with water but quickly eliminated the possibility, then carbon dioxide was her other choice, only to be ruled out almost as quickly as it came.

"You got me, Rick. You definitely got me..." and when Castle was about to beam and open his mouth to claim his place as a winner she continued "Don't glow. I'll have your answer and your dinner by tomorrow."

"Definitely" Castle said.

A few more minutes went by until they finally exited the diner and went back to walk to busy New York streets.

The walk to the precinct was funnier and more active the previous one. Their way back was filled with random facts, jokes about the old times Kate and Ella spent together, crazy stories and theories from Rick, it could be considered perfect. In fact they were so at ease that they felt like they knew each other for years. Tough the real world was much destructive than any of them could imagine right now. But by the time Ella decided to ask a inoffensive and innocent question, reality sank in for both the detective and the writer whose smiles were almost ripped out of their faces.

"Hey, do you know where Amber is? I've been trying to get a hold of her all day and like she mentioned that she was actually your niece..." Ella was about to continue, whether it was the fact that Rick and Kate grew quiet or the fact that both of them stopped dead in their tracks at the mention of Amber's name, she wasn't sure, but there was something going on and by the looks of it, Ella was not going to like it. As a matter of fact Ella was afraid that she already knew the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of you have alerted me for the colour of Beckett's eyes but since I started this story considering them green I'll keep that. If you see something that doesn't fells right fell free to tell me! I wanted to thank all of you who took time to leave some cookies for my baby birds in the last chapters and that's why I adopting a new method: in every chapter I'll write further on I will choose a review and name it my favourite how's that?
> 
> So, review that made my entire week if not month was by phnxgrl who has reviewed my story since the beginning! Thank you, love! From the depths of mine heart I thank thee ;)
> 
> How about more cookies? By birds need to eat xD


	7. The Red room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a fantastic awesomesause New Year!
> 
> Hello there! If anyone's still reading this cute little story xD Once again I would like to apologise for this very very very long delay. Senior year at high-school puts a lot of pressure on you... but anyway I only work good under pressure so... on with the story!
> 
> Disclaimer: nope, still don't own it... though I lent the tiger ;) just kidding! I never thought I would say this but I don't want to own it... if I did the show would have ended by my lack of ideas...

He hadn't stopped pacing since he'd arrived home early in the morning. As a matter of fact his living room carpet might catch fire from all the constant friction from the soles of his bloody boots.

When they first offered him the job it seemed like a miracle. He needed the cash and he was mad at her for choosing some random foreign woman over him to help her with a case of a lifetime. But then the anger passed and the love for her grew only stronger so he wanted out. "Too late" they'd said. "Once you're in, you're never out".

His movements stilled in the middle of his living room and he looked out of the window, gazing the busy New York streets even in the cold of a harsh winter. Maybe it wasn't his fault after all maybe it was his parents' for raising such a greedy and selfish bastard like him. Being their fault or not, he still had killed her. And no matter how hard he tried to wash it away, he still had blood on his hands. Literally and otherwise.

When he first saw her in the spa wearing nothing more than a towel, his resolution started shattering but once one of the massagers' hands touched her back, his mind went backwards to that last month when he saw her kissing some tall guy after he'd asked her to go out with him a few days earlier.

There are things men cannot control and jealousy was his soft spot. Gathering back his resolution, he waited inside the janitor's closet till closing hour and killed her before she had a chance to scream. And he felt good about it. _Felt_ being the key word.

Now, standing inside his apartment after hours of wandering around in the car, he felt guilty. He killed the one person he'd truly loved in his life over nothing more than money and jealousy. God, he despised himself. He felt sick.

Running towards the bathroom, he landed knees first on the hard and freezing tiles of the floor and brought his fisted hands to rest on the toilet. He was surprised when something came out of his mouth since he hadn't eaten anything in almost 24 hours.

When done, he flushed the toilet and dragged himself to the sink where he brought a handful of water to his mouth swishing a bit after spitting it out.

His wand was moving to take hold of the toothbrush when something caught his eye in the mirror.

Leaning a bit closer, he slightly turned his face and froze. On the outer corned of his right eye was a smear of dried blood.

Ridding himself of his clothes as fast as capable without ripping them out he jumped into the shower and turned the on the hot water. Grabbing the washcloth out of the stand he begun to scrub himself with such violence that he almost peeled his skin off.

* * *

She had been right when she thought she already knew the answer. After all, Ella knew the expression plastered all over their faces all too well from personal experience.

Her mouth opened and closed several times before her eyes filling up with water.

Ella tried to distract herself to prevent from crying so she lowered her gaze, fixating it in nowhere in particular and started fiddling with her fingers. After a few moments she found it impossible to maintain a regular breath so she let it grow heavier and shorter.

There appeared to be a soft voice in the back of her head that looked identical to Kate's begging her to look up and calm down. But she made no use of the given advices. Her mind was already too clouded with a sea of red that seemed to drown her and woke her buried memories of her mother.

With every passing second Ella found breathing was getting harder and harder but she did nothing to stop that. The pain was still too blinding to move.

She never noticed when both Castle and Beckett pushed her down the sidewalk. By the time they'd all sit down on it she was literally chocking. Despite all the effort and lack of air, Ella's hands were in steady fists that now gripped her coat.

The soothing words Beckett spoke didn't seemed to penetrate the barrier of her mind so Kate tried another tactic she was sure it would work.

Grabbing Ella's face in both her hands, Kate looked her softly in the eye and begun to sing, gently caressing her cheekbones. "Long awaited darkness falls, casting shadows on the walls, in the twilight hour I am alone...

As Kate continued to whisper the lyrics of the song, Castle watched in amazement as she pulled Ella in a comforting embrace.

Only when Beckett felt Ella's head rest on her shoulder did she stop singing the melancholic tune.

"Let go, just let it go, honey..." Moving so that her mouth was closer to Ella's left ear.

And as if Kate's words had something of magical in them, Ella finally let the tears fall freely down her face, the gasps of air being replaced by light sobs.

A few moments passed by before Ella regained her composure completely and stepped out of her cousin's embrace.

"Thank you!" Ella said, her voice still hoarse from both oxygen deprivation and crying.

"You don't have to thank me, you know that!" Kate smiled sweetly.

"I always thought I was stronger than this... It's been years since it happened."

"You've been pretty strong throughout all this years. After what you've been through most people would have a very deep depression and wouldn't be able to walk the streets without fear of being murdered. You're braver than you thing, Ella. Sometimes you were braver than me..."

Ella offered Kate a lopsided grin. "Are you sure Castle there is the best-selling author? Cause you sure as hell know the right things to say!"

Beckett laughed lightly and said "It's just a job requirement. Castle's sill the writer one."

"Good cause you had me thinking you were turning into a _softie_ there!" Ella teased.

"Hey! I'm not a _softie_. And I'll have you know that my books sell very well, thank you very much!" Castle complained.

"Oh! Buck it up Castle!" Beckett said as she stood up, offering her hand to Ella.

"Just because I had a panic attack that doesn't make me disabled." Ella stood up and ran her hands down her jeans to get rid of any dirt that might have been on the ground.

"I get it you're back then!" Kate replied, bringing her hand to rest by her side.

"Don't _I_ get a little help, Detective?" Castle asked, mocking hurt.

Beckett rolled her eyes at him but extended her hand nonetheless and Castle took it eagerly.

When Castle was about to give one of his remarking quips, Beckett spoke. "And this is just because I've got work to do and I'm not in the mood for you to pout like a two year old for the rest of the day."

"Oh! And me thinking the hardboiled Detective was turning into a _softie_..." Castle teased, a brilliant smile plastered across his face, which quickly vanished below a death-glare from Beckett.

"Duly noted!" Castle replied right after.

* * *

Ryan and Esposito stood examining the surveillance tapes the Spa's owner had released previously.

"Hey, have you noticed something off?" Ryan asked earning a strange look from Esposito.

"Something off? Like what"

"Yeah, about Beckett" Upon Javier's still confused appearance he continued. "Like she's been looking kind of pale now..."

"Dude, seriously? God you're such a girl!" Esposito said and Ryan gave him a "what" look after which he continued dryly. "How the hell do you expect her to look? Tanned? The woman hasn't taken any days off, not to mention her vacation days, since God knows when!"

"No, no. I'm not talking about that pale. Not the lack of sun kind of pale."

Esposito gave Ryan a "spit-it-out-now-or-I'll-kick-your-ass" sort of look and opened his mouth to say one more of his quirky replies but Ryan's hand stopped the words from rolling out of his mouth.

"What I'm trying to say is that she looks pale. The _sick_ kind of pale, you know, like if there's something wrong with her health."

Just the mention of the word _sick_ was enough to bring Esposito's attention and a thoughtful expression over his features.

He paused his scan of the surveillance videos and let his mind wander back in time, seeking for enough information that could prove his partner's side note to be trusted. The outcome of this brief "research" was what he'd feared when Ryan had _finally_ explained his half finished sentences.

"She does, doesn't she?" Esposito thoughtfully said.

"Yeah... For what I gathered she's been like that for at least a week now. You think she's trying to hide something from us?"

"Maybe... maybe not... Wasn't that big fight between her and Castle about a week ago?"

"What, you think they're still mad at each other?" Ryan wondered.

"Could be... What was that fight about anyway?"

"Not sure... something about a kiss, I think."

"A kiss huh?" Esposito asked, his interest rising more and more by the minute. "You think they kissed?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. I mean, maybe Castle finally gathered the courage and kissed her leaving her head a complete mess and her heart begging for more. Maybe now that she had had a taste of what kissing Castle felt like being with Josh wasn't enough. Maybe they even broke up and last week's argument was about how Beckett obviously blames Castle for their break up, for the end of a friendly love-like safe relationship."

"Dude! I feel like I'm watching a bad script from a cheesy midnight soap opera." Esposito warned. "I've told you before: You're not Castle. You do that again and I'mma smack you."

"Ooh! Sounds like _someone_ is spending too much time with a certain M.E named _Lanie_!" Ryan teased, his eyebrows rising slightly.

"Shut up, _Honey Milk_!" Javier replied through gritted teeth.

"Whatever. _Iceposito_!" Ryan retorted.

"You ladies done gossiping?" Beckett said as she, Castle and Ella neared the two detectives.

"Uh... We..." Both detectives stammered.

"Hey! While you were out eating what was probably a delicious lunch, we were left and stuck here _working_ till we starved to death." Esposito replied upon seeing the smirk on Beckett's lips.

"The take out Castle left us though was pretty awesome though. Hey, where did you order it?" Ryan turned to Castle, a curious look embracing his features.

"Dude" Esposito retorted.

"What? It's true." Ryan asked matter-of-factly. "So where was that place again?"

"I will never tell you..." Castle offered as a response to Ryan's question.

"Dude we have the food containers with the name on it." Esposito informed his partner. "Yeah, if you don't tell us we'll just look the name up on the internet." Ryan said, a bit indignant.

Esposito's hands flew desperately to his shaking head. Sometimes Ryan didn't really think things trough.

While Esposito find the situation a bit desperate, Castle started sucking on his cheeks so he could contain his laughter and both Beckett and Ella watched the whole interaction with a risen eyebrow and amused expressions on their faces.

Finally, when Castle found in him restrain enough to talk without bursting into fits of laughter, he directed his amused gaze from the floor to Ryan. "Then you did you even asked me?"

"Huh... I..." Ryan stammered for the second time in less than fifteen minutes.

Seeing one of her detectives in a rather embarrassing situation, Kate found the will to give him a little hand. But like detective Beckett was no _softie_ (hence that), her plan to help her detective implied getting rid of any embarrassing situations only to bring one where both her detectives put their feet through their hands.

"So tell me, where are you on the surveillance tapes? Any idea of who long was Amber visiting the spa?" Beckett asked nonchalantly.

"Ahh... we...um... we're" Esposito and Ryan went on rambling. Upon eyeing Beckett's expression, Ryan rapidly begun to formulate an answer that neither Becket nor best-selling author Richard Castle understood.

"We'veonlymadeituptomidapril"

"I'm sorry, but what was that?" Castle asked, even he, the man-child who still created new languages and codes to talk to his daughter hadn't understood a single word.

"Mid April" Ryan reformulated again, but this time slower and shyly.

Beckett had already figured they'd done nothing but gossiped about her and Castle and how was the "Caskett" bet as they called it, but she just wanted to watch them squirm a little more under her threatening gaze.

" _Mid_ April? Seriously guys? I went to have lunch with my cousin over an hour ago. How is it possible you still haven't even checked half the surveillance clips from last month?" Beckett asked, a hard expression on her face. Castle was about to tell her to calm down, that they were doing their best when he caught the mischievous glint adorning the corner of her eye. "What were you _Marie Antoinettes_ doing? Discussing the latest episode from _The Sex and the City_? Oh, wait! Was it the upcoming episode of _The Private Lives of Castle and Beckett_?"

"Huh... no... And FYI we call you two Caskett..." Ryan offered.

"Really? Gosh, you're such girls..." Kate teased.

"Hey!" Esposito said pretending to be offended. "So, is that your cousin? Man, you two look alike!"

Ella offered a warm smile to both detectives.

"Though I have to say" Esposito started "...she looks far friendlier than you Beckett."

"I wouldn't judge a book by its cover, Esposito... She's _way_ meaner than me, when angry. Oh, and way more violent." Beckett teased.

"Hard to believe that, Beckett..." Ryan said " You're a badass..."

"Well, put badass and kicking ass ninja skills and you'll have her!" Kate added.

Castle and the two detectives quickly turned their eyes to Ella, surprised.

"That's so cool..." Castle said in awe.

Ryan eyed her up and down "Seriously? Never would have thought..."

"Dude!" Esposito said, giving his companion a smack in the arm.

"You have a super cool accent too..." Castle pointed out.

"What accent?" Ryan asked.

"She's British!" Castle answered excitedly.

"You like it Rick?" Ella teased.

"You kidding? It's insanely awesome!"

Ella eyed Beckett who only gave her a shrug and a legendary Beckett eye roll.

"Well, don't mind the ladies, here. I'm Javier Esposito, nice to meet you." Esposito said and extended his hand to Ella.

"Ladies?" Both Ryan and Castle said in unison.

"Ella Hayner, Kate's cousin. Nice to meet you too detective."

"Please call me Javier" he said while shaking hands with the girl.

"Okay, I'm Ryan. Kevin Ryan." Ryan said, pulling off his James Bond impersonation.

"Dude..." Castle said, shaking his head sideways, earning a bright smile from Ella.

"I'm Ella. Pleased to meet you _Mr. James Bond_." She said jokingly.

"Ok, enough of jokes." Beckett said sternly "Back to the case: what do we have so far?"

"Well, for one thing, Sarah the receptionist is right." Esposito started. "Amber wasn´t a regular at the spa. She hasn't appeared in any tape we've seen so far."

"Ok, any word from Lanie yet?" Beckett asked.

"Nada. We've also been trying to get a hold of the spa manager, but apparently he's out of town." Ryan said.

"Any idea as to where he went?" Castle asked.

"Nope. Monica, his assistant, said he went on business." Ryan offered.

Castle examined Beckett's retreating figure towards the murder board. When she was close enough, Beckett stopped right in front of it and stared for a moment trying to absorb the little information they had.

Moments had passed by when Ella who had assumed a thinking expression finally voiced her thoughts. "Is Sara the only receptionist?"

Every member of the team stared at her, trying to reach her train of thought.

"Ryan" Beckett demanded.

"Actually, no. There's three of them: huh, Sarah, Caleb and Hazel."

" _But,_ " Esposito begun, dragging the _u_ a bit "they were four."

"What happened?" Castle asked.

"Apparently, Lucy got 'hot and heavy' with the manager." The detective explained.

Beckett eyed Esposito quizzically "So he fired her? That doesn't make much sense..."

"Yeah, shouldn't she be the one to have like... privileges?" Castle asked, also confused.

"You didn't let me finish" Esposito said. "She was involved with him until Lucy caught him with Kelly, the costumer of _honour_."

"No way!" Castle said, his jaw hanging open.

"I know! How _cliché_ is that?" Ryan said.

"So I guess that the status of _costumer of honour_ worked sideways, huh?" Beckett said, eyeing Castle from the corner of her eyes.

"Katherine!" Castle said in a stern voice, mocking outrage.

The look Castle send her way made her reach for the case file on her desk to hide both her rising blush and her smirk.

Ella eyed the exchange between the two and as Castle was about to say something, she spoke, that way saving Beckett from a much probably dirty comment from the writer "So, do we have any idea where that Lucy is?"

"The only thing we know is that she looks hot as hell and is not in New York at the moment" Esposito answered Ella's question while holding Lucy's file.

"Should Lanie be worried, Javier?" Beckett teased after recomposing herself.

There was a brief look of panic crossing his gaze before he quickly shut the file and settling it down on the desk.

"No" came his strangled reply.

"Good! Now since when has she been out of town?" Beckett asked, trying to hide the smirk of her lips.

"Doorman said she left the building around 6:20 last night"

Beckett grabbed the file from where Esposito had dropped it before and looked at the address.

"Ok, she had enough time to enter the spa and kill Amber. Send out an APB"

Ryan quickly followed orders and started dialling a number on the phone of his desk.

"What else do we have on the manager? Was he married?" Castle asked.

"Not according to his file, but Sarah seems to think he has a boyfriend." Esposito said.

"Huh, don't you mean, like, _girlfriend_? Is the manager a _she_?" Castle asked, fascinated in a very morbid way.

"Oh, no! The manager's a _he_ , but Sarah saw him argue with a guy at the back entrance of the spa..." Esposito explained.

"So what? You argue with guys all the time. That doesn't imply you have a boyfriend on the side of your heterosexual relationships. Does it?" Beckett teased.

"What is it with you, Beckett? Why don't you stop jumping to conclusions and start jumping the writer sitting at your desk?" Esposito snapped.

At that moment, Beckett was certain her lower jaw had hit the floor. "Oh, I wouldn't push it if I were you, Esposito. You see, I don't think Lanie would be happy to know you made googly eyes at a murder suspect." Beckett fired back.

This time was the detective's jaw to hit the ground "You're a detective and that's blackmail. You should know it's a crime, for Goodness sake!" Esposito teased back.

"She has a point though..." Castle said matter-of-factly.

"Dude! If _I_ am, then _you_ are!" Esposito stated.

Castle met Beckett's eyes and a small teasing grin appeared on her lips.

"Oh, I see what you did here..." Esposito glared at Beckett "As I was going to say, Sarah saw them arguing at the back entrance, _but_ when she turned around to head back to the main corridor, she heard them apologise and profess their love to each other."

"Maybe they were brothers?" Castle asked, a bit uncertainty holding his voice.

"That's what I thought too. But according to his file he has neither siblings nor living relatives."

"Did Sarah saw that other guy?" Beckett asked.

"She caught a glimpse of him when she opened the door."

"Okay. Bring her in and ask her if she could describe him to a sketch artist."

"Already happening boss" Esposito tilted his head towards the family room to prove his point.

"Great! I'll go down to the morgue see what Lanie knows so far. Give Castle the manager's records. Meanwhile you keep an eye on those surveillance tapes."

"Yeah, it would be great if you got those done by the end of the day..." Castle teased.

Esposito glared at him for a moment. "If someone does more and better than I do, I'll step back and let them work their magic."

"No, thanks, you do your thing. Those records await my reading eye." Castle shot back.

While the guys exchanged looks between annoyed and radiant, Beckett turned her attention to her cousin, who was watching intently the exchange between Castle and Esposito. Feeling someone's eyes upon her, Ella turned her face to meet Kate's eyes.

"Do you have anything to do or somewhere else to be?" Kate asked.

Ella cocked her head to the side, a saddened expression on her features. "Well, I was supposed to meet Amber this afternoon... Guess it won't be happening..."

"Guess not..."

"Could I stay and help with the case? I mean only if you don't mind." Ella asked, expectancy shadowing on her eyes.

"Well, I'll need to ask the captain, and we still need to rule you out as a suspect. You know how it goes..."

"Yeah..." she whispered, her eyes falling to the paved floor.

"Hey, is there... something you want me to tell her? Any message?" Beckett asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Kate knew her mission was well succeeded when Ella let go of a low giggle. "No, thanks. I'll talk to her when I see her again..."

"Okay... tell Ryan to question you while I'm down at the morgue. We've lost too much time doing nothing. It's time to speed things back to normal."

And with that, Beckett turned on her heels and headed for the elevator. She was about to enter when Ella's voice stopped her.

"I'm really happy to see you again, you know?"

"Yeah! Me too, Ella, me too!"

* * *

By the time Beckett entered the room where the M.E. was working on Amber's body, Lanie was giving the final touches of her preliminary report.

"Anything for me?" The detective simply asked.

The medical examiner looked up from her files to greet her friend with a warm smile. "Just finished my prelim." She said, getting up from the chair she was on and moving towards the body. "She suffered from a neck incision. The gash is pretty deep compared to what usually comes on my table."

"Personal, maybe?" Beckett asked

"That would be my first guess. Crimes where the victim's throat is slashed are usually related to mod hits what makes the cuts less profound so that the victim suffers before dying." Lanie began to explain. "But cuts as deep as this one here are much probably crimes of passion..."

"So the killer had a close relationship with our victim. Anything else you can tell me?" Beckett asked.

"Well, my first guess was wrong. The cause of death is not exsanguination. After her throat was slashed, she must've tried to inhale which caused air to enter the jugular causing an embolism." Lanie clarified.

"Ok. What about the cuts on her back?"

"They were done _post-mortem,_ possibly with the same blade."

As Lanie gave her the details, Beckett would write them down on her black paper pad. "Any light you can shed on the murder weapon?"

* * *

Castle and Esposito were still engrossed on their respective tasks when Ryan finally got off the phone.

Ella who had been looking at the practically naked murder board turned her head to see Ryan hug up the call. Getting up from her position at Beckett's desk, she moved towards Ryan so her questioning could begin and she could try and help with the case.

* * *

"I've sent a mould of the wound down to the lab. The cut is clean so I'm thinking a kitchen knife or a razor blade." The M.E. said.

"Anything else you found that can be helpful?"

"Not that I remember, no."

"Ok, thanks Lanie! Call me if anything pops up." Beckett closed her note pad and was headed to the door when Lanie stopped her.

"Oh, wait! I almost forgot, the victim had burn marks on her lower right arm. They might have been caused due to exposure to a chemical substance like cleaning products. I sent a swab to the lab to see if we can narrow it down to one specific product."

"Ok, Thanks!" Beckett said, and finally left the room.

* * *

Back at the precinct, Ryan and Ella were going wrapping up the investigation when the elevator's door opened, letting Beckett out.

"So you say that you arrived around 9:10 this morning, right?" Ryan asked her once more.

"Yeah, Jim, Kate's father picked me up at the airport. I must've arrived at the hotel at 9:50." Ella, once again, answered.

"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Amber? Maybe an unhappy client?"

"No, not that I know of. Like I said before I've just started working with her. I mean we'd worked together before when she was in the UK." Ella said.

"How long was this partnership?" Ryan asked, taking notes.

"Three to four months. Amber said she wanted to work inside the States and the left. We worked two cases, in the UK, both on corruption." She explained.

The detective was about to make another question when Beckett entered the observation room.

"Ok, tell me one more thing, why this sudden partnership? And why here?"

"As I said before, Amber preferred working here and I've always wanted to come back. Amber told me about a case and I thought it interesting, so I agreed to help her with it." When Ella mentioned the case, the fear of being asked what was the case about rose on her stomach and clenched her heart. She didn't want to mention it, but she also knew it was the best thing to do if they wanted to catch the killers. And maybe these two detectives and writer would be an extra hand. And even if she knew that Beckett's cunningness would be a great help too, Ella wanted to prevent her from getting involved, which by telling the case Amber and her were working on would be impossible to do.

Ryan lifted his head to look at Ella. "I figure you know my next question..."

Beckett eyed her cousin's expression and sucked in a breath and clenched tightly her crossed arms, bracing herself for the obvious answer.

Ella's eyes drifted from the table surface to the blue of the detective's eyes, taking a deep breath before answering, as if to gain courage. "Johanna Beckett's murder."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a sneaky little sucker... I swear God I had no ideas what to write on it... I'm sorry if I rambled in this chap but... you know...
> 
> So, confessions to make: phnxgrl I love you and your reviews! Thank you for all the support love!
> 
> ccmls I am soooo glad you liked my girl Ella! I was kind of insecure about her.
> 
> And last but not least: Lianna-snow you'll have to tame down your curiosity for the riddle's answer will be on the next chapter (so don't leave me?)
> 
> Thank you ALL for reading this story, now would you mind to click that blue button so that my birdies can go have a happy new year? plz?


	8. How much it hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have the right to kill me if you want. I deserve it for making you wait so long xD But then you wont see the next chapter unless you let me post it from the afterlife xD
> 
> Disclaimer: Own nothing but Ella, James Ford, the 'voice' and Amber so far xD

"It's official, a new deadly virus is striking North America more than any other place in the entire world. Health Department's president has announced that until now, New York is the most affected area, followed by the states of Nevada and California." The small brunette woman on the television stated.

"Damn this thing!" Esposito mumbled, while taking a break from the surveillance tapes to fetch himself a coffee. "Don't they have anything else to talk about? They've been talking about this thing for three days in a row..."

"Health specialists seem to think that this new virus, yet to be identified, is aggravated by high temperatures and increased blood pressure." The woman continued.

"Health specialists?" he snickered "They couldn't just say doctors, could they? Why on earth do the media have to give things more importance than needed? This _new virus_ is probably just the flu..."

"Information gathered from local hospitals and health centres affirm that the symptoms to this new disease can be easily mistaken by the ones of flu..."

"That's because it's the damn flu!" Esposito complained.

"Among these symptoms are high fevers, body soreness, vomits and high difficulty of breathing. If you present any of these signs, please head for the nearer hospital. The methods of contagion are believed to be the same as flu's."

Annoyed, the detective eyed the talking box and with a shake of his head, exited the room, resuming his work at the desk.

* * *

When he exited the shower, the water had already run cold. He now stood in a kitchen stool with a bathrobe on, drinking the only herbal infusion he had around the house. In a normal situation, he would've opted for something like dark unsweetened coffee, but, afraid what the caffeine might do to him in this estate, he went for a weak infusion. If you asked him, it tasted like perfume and acid, but he needed something to maintain his mind occupied until someone (who appeared to have swallowed all the helium available in the universe) gave him instructions as to where he would be dropping the files he'd taken from her office and house. _Dropping the files and picking up that damned and cursed money._ Money for which he killed the only person he'd ever cared about and truly loved.

He was just finishing his cup when his cell rang, indicating he'd received a new message.

" _Go to Café Mogador on East Village and ask for Mrs Peabody. You'll be given a manila paper bag containing a cell phone inside. Use it to call the only listed number. You'll then be given the needed directions as to where you'll make the drop. Oh, and by the way, nice job! It's already on the news!"_

* * *

Her eyes stung. She'd hoped Amber had been killed for some other reason than her mother's murder.

As soon as the words left Ella's lips, silence fell over both the observation and the interrogation room. She could feel her throat close, making it impossible for air to enter her lungs. Kate felt as if she was about to faint.

Ryan had no idea what to say. He felt dumbfounded, speechless. The detective whished Beckett hadn't hear the final part of the interrogation, but he knew better than that. Her presence behind the mirror weighted too much on his shoulders.

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but, as if on cue, Castle entered the observation room, a proud smile tugging on his lips.

"I got us a connection between the manager and Amber! Well, sort of.." Castle said proudly.

In what seemed like ages, Beckett directed her gaze from the see-through mirror and fixated her eyes upon Castle's. She knew the instant her gaze met his, that she'd done a big mistake, judging from the look of worry and panic that crossed Castle's eyes.

He could clearly see, now that she was facing him, that her eyes were bloodshot and moist. Beckett was either about to cry or had already started.

"You okay?" he asked, as as he did so, Castle could feel her walls rise behind her eyes. Despite what she said to him next, he knew it would be a lie. Whether it was to protect him or herself, Castle didn't know.

"Yeah!" and there it was, clear and brief, the lie she used as a shield.

"You sure? Cause you don't look"

"I said I'm fine." She snapped, giving Castle one more indicator that whatever it was she was hiding, would fit perfectly in the categories of personal or very serious. Maybe both. "What was the connection you were gloating about?"

Castle eyed her for a moment before answering Kate's question. " Well, I was going through Amber's case and company files when something jumped to my attention..."

He made a brief pause to give his partner time to compose and ready herself to absorb the information.

"Yes... go on..." The detective replied impatiently.

"It was someone, not something. Apparently, someone named James Ford works with Amber and also is listed as the manager's emergency contact."

Beckett eyed Castle with a furrowed brow. "Was he a regular at the spa?"

"Nope. Talked to Esposito, he's running him now." Kate nodded and Castle watched as she went back to fight the storm inside her head. "How are things going in there?" he dared to ask.

A couple moments passed by till Beckett noticed Castle's expectant eyes on her. "Huh?"

"How are things going in there?" he asked again.

"Huh... Ryan was just starting to wrap it up when you came in." As she finished the sentence, her eyes were slowly lowered to the ground, but not before slightly tilting her head to the side and briefly closing her eyes.

Castle knew then, for sure, there was something major going on, and she wasn't very fond of the thought of telling what it was. He'd have to pull it out later.

"Okay... I'm going to check if Esposito has something on Ford so far. Care to join me, detective? You look like you need a little more action." He tried to joke.

"Yeah... I'll meet you there in a bit."

Castle nodded and as he made his leave, Kate offered him a tight smile. Just a few moments after Castle had exited the room, Ryan, followed by Ella entered it.

"Hey!" Ella said in such a low voice, she might as well have whispered it.

"Hey!" Beckett merely replied.

The air around them quickly became thick as stone and an awkward, uncomfortable silence fell briefly over them.

Ryan finally managed to find his voice and courage necessary to ask the question with the oh-so-obvious answer. "Did... hah... did you hear everything?" A bit of hesitation still holding his words.

"Heard enough..." with that, Kate redirected her gaze from Kevin to her cousin.

"I... I'm sorry, Kate. I should have told you before, but... I... I really am sorry."

"I'm afraid I already knew, anyway..." Kate said, offering Ella a dull smile. "I just didn't want it to be true, I guess."

And again, silence fell over them, this time not awkward but clouded with pity and compassion. Beckett hated that. She could stand anger. She could stand the fury of thousand hurricanes, but pity? Pity was too much to ask for. Pity made her feel weak, almost human like. It made her walls crumple to the ground under a dense fog and took the constant pain she lived with, out of the shadows, out of the numbness where she learned to confine them and made it all too real. All too personal.

That was why, without another word, another look, she left the observation room, leaving both the detective and her cousin speechless and with a sense of guilt.

Then, their eyes met across the bullpen and it was like she could live again. It was like she could smile once more and numb the pain. And she did both. Kate smiled vibrantly and his eyes instantly lit up.

Castle signalled her to come closer and join him at Esposito's desk.

"Any news on Ford?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his blue depths.

"Oh, we do have news! And they're as juicy as they can get!" Esposito replied and after taking a sip of his cooling coffee, he continued "Remember when we told you that one of the spa's workers saw the manager argue with a man?"

"Yes. Is she done with that description?" Beckett asked, breaking her gaze from Castle's to eye the detective.

"She is! Officer Villanueva brought us the sketch when I was running Ford trough the database" Esposito said "James Ford is the same guy the manager was arguing with."

"So, not only is Ford our mystery man, but also the supposed manager's partner?" Kate asked, a bit confused.

"I think _lover_ would fit better the description." Castle said.

"I bet you do..." Beckett teased "Hey, Espo where are we on those tapes?"

"Nothing interesting so far. I'm on June tapes now. Ford never made an appearance on the tapes."

Kate nodded "Okay, ask Ryan to help you with the surveillance. Castle fill Ella in, I'll just get the all clear with the captain and then she can help us with the investigation." She commanded as Ella and Ryan made their way to meet them.

After Ella settled down near her desk with Castle and Ryan occupied his own desk, Beckett headed for the captain's office.

* * *

A tall brunette with exotic features stood behind the counter of the small café taking orders from customers.

He stood still near the door, gathering the courage to proceed according to plan. He felt ridiculous. How was it possible that someone would be able to commit murder without a second thought, but feel too afraid to ask for someone named Peabody? Taking a few deep breaths, the man finally joined the small line of customers. In a few minutes he found himself facing the brunette.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked.

He couldn't find it in him to eye the girl. Sweat pouring from every pore of his body, the man mumbled "Mrs Peabody"

The exotic girl eyed him, confused "I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to speak up..."

Clearing his throat, the man tried again. "I'm looking for Mrs Peabody..." he said, this time slightly louder.

Upon hearing his words, the girl's expression instantly changed. Her voice grew darker and profound.

"Of course sir, here you have it." The girl said after reaching for the paper bag behind the counter. "Have a nice day."

The man then exited the coffee shop and once outside, he opened the bag and took the phone inside.

A single tap on the call button was all it took for the game to continue.

* * *

"Has she been cleared, Beckett?" Roy Montgomery asked, eyeing his detective suspiciously.

"Yes, sir, she has. Detective Ryan conducted the interrogation and her alibi checked out. She was inside a plane when the murder occurred." Beckett explained the captain.

"So what makes you think she'd be a valuable asset for this investigation?"

Kate eyed her captain with a rose brow. "Ah, like I said, sir. She knew the victim very well, they worked together and I do think that she can give us some insight on the cases they worked together indicating us if some case is related to Amber's death."

"You told me they were both attorneys, right?" Montgomery asked. There was something on Beckett's cold expression that said something was off.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright then. She can assist you in this case." The captain said.

After Beckett thanked him and turned to leave, she was stopped midway through the door by her captain's voice.

"Is there something you're not telling me Beckett?"

Kate turned on her heels and faced him, using the best poker face she could manage at the moment and given the circumstances. "What? No, sir. I told you everything I know."

"Beckett!" Montgomery pressed further.

"Sir, there's nothing else to t..."

"It's written all over your face, Kate."

"Wha...?"

"Something's bothering you, Kate. I want to know." He said and noticing the change on Beckett's expression the captain used his arm to signal his detective to take a seat. So she did. Beckett took a seat on the nearest couch and after shifting positions several times, she opted for her guarded one – sitting at the edge of her seat, elbows resting upon her knees, fingers laced in front of her mouth and back slightly arched.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kate slightly moved her hands away from her mouth so she could be heard. "Ah... I... There's reason to..." she made a brief stop to clear her throat and constricting airways. "... reason to think that Amber's murder is related to a... cold case."

Montgomery eyed her again, this time expectantly but afraid of what could come next.

"That, being my mum's murder..." and again she cleared her throat "...sir."

Her vision was fixated on the family picture on Montgomery's desk and her mind filled with good memories of her years before the tragic incident.

Silence ascended upon the two people occupying the office. They both knew this silence. It had happened when they found out about Coonan, when they found Lockwood and it was happening again.

"Are you ok working this case, Kate? I don't want to send you home again."

"Ah, yes, sir. I'm fine. There's nothing concrete anyway. And if my suspicions are correct I'll just try and deal with it."

Montgomery nodded and Beckett got up and turned to leave once more and once more she was interrupted.

"Hey, Kate" After she turned her head did he continue "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I will. Don't worry, sir." And with that she tuned and left the office.

* * *

"Hey, kid!" the hoarse voice spoke, a slight hint of amusement lingering on every word. "Though you'd lost yourself. Oh nice job. Not pro-style, but good all the same."

The man sighed into the phone, his hands trembling, his heart beating faster and faster. "Sorry. I had to sort some things out."

"Oh, look, he's talking like a grown up." The voice in the other end said and then the amusement left, giving room to a more harsh and menacing tone "Hope you didn't do something stupid, kid. Because if you did, I'll find your ass and do the same to you you did to her"

"Hah... huh..." the man then cleared his throat "No I did nothing stupid. Now where's my money?"

A high pinched chuckle came from the other end of the phone "Chill kid! You have the files with you?"

"Yes, I have them here."

"Good! Now go to Albert's Garden on the Bowery. There's a green plaque behind the fence. Slip the files there and go back home."

"How about my money?" the man asked

"Not to worry, kid. Go back home. There's a big stash of bills on top of your bed."

"What?" the man asked incredulous.

"Ah, you know, kid, We gotta cover our bases. Now burn this phone, throw it in the river, whatever, just make it disappear."

* * *

As Beckett exited the captain's office, she signalled Ella to meet her on the break room.

"So?" she asked.

"You're good to go." Beckett said and as Ella was about to break into a huge smile, her cousin continued. "But, we have to talk. And set some ground rules."

"Okay. I guess it is only fair." Ella said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were working on my mother's case?"

"Because I didn't want to bring your hopes up and then find nothing conclusive."

"Yes, ok. But you should have asked for my permission. You had no right, Ella. You have no idea how much it hurts."

"Listen, I said I'm sorry, Kate. And yes I know how much it hurts. You think that knowing who did it brings any closure? You think it makes everything better? Makes it hurt less? It doesn't, Kate. It doesn't. After you know who did it and see them pay you feel free for one single moment and then you just feel numb. So I know how it hurts, Kate."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't..." Beckett said to the floor.

"Neither should I... but at least we got something out of this right?"

"You found something on my mother's case? What?" Kate asked, her eyes almost burning through Ella's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter huh? thanks for not killing me xD  
> fanfictioncaskett4- I love you! I really do xD Thanks for all the support xD
> 
> taguay and brittb thank you for the add xD
> 
> Don't expect the next chapter very soon. I still have 2 stories to update and exams so... don't rush the genius?
> 
> Thank you all for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and of course do not forget to review ;)
> 
> Until the next Chapter my dear readers


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